§ 115C-68.1. Merger of units by the board of commissioners.
§ 115C‑68.1. Merger of units by the board of commissioners.
(a) The board of commissioners of a county in which two or morelocal school administrative units are located, but all are located whollywithin the county, may adopt a plan for the consolidation and merger of theunits into a single countywide unit.
The plan adopted under this subsection shall require that the countyadopting the plan provide local funding per average daily membership to theresulting local school administrative unit for subsequent years of at least thehighest level of any local school administrative unit in the county during thepreceding five fiscal years before the merger.
The board of commissioners shall forward a copy of the plan it adoptsto the boards of education of all local school administrative units locatedwithin the county, immediately upon adoption.
(b) The boards of commissioners of two counties in which onelocal school administrative unit is located in both counties may jointly adoptplans for each of their counties, including a plan of consolidation and mergerfor such unit that is located in more than one county. The results of suchconsolidation and merger shall be that there is only one countywide localschool administrative unit in each county, or that the entirety of the unitlocated within two counties is merged and consolidated with the county unit ofone of the two counties. Such plans shall also merge and consolidate any othercity school administrative unit located wholly within one of the two counties. Within the two‑county area, all the plans shall take effect on the sameday.
The plans jointly adopted under this subsection shall require that thecounties jointly adopting the plans provide local funding per average dailymembership to the resulting local school administrative units for subsequentfiscal years of at least the highest level of any local school administrativeunit being merged during the preceding five fiscal years before the merger.
The boards of commissioners of each of the two counties shall forwardcopies of the plans they adopt to the boards of education of all local schooladministrative units located within the county, immediately upon adoption.
(c) The plans under this section shall be prepared and approvedin accordance with G.S. 115C‑67 as provided by general law, or G.S. 115C‑68as provided by general law, as applicable, except that the county and cityboards of education shall not participate by preparing, entering into,submitting, or agreeing to a plan, and the plan shall not be contingent uponapproval of the voters.
(d) For the purpose of this section, local funding per averagedaily membership means the budgeted local expense per average dailymembership. The State Board of Education shall establish guidelines for thecomputation of this amount and the amount shall be set out in the plan forconsolidation and merger.
(e) If the State Board of Education fails to approve a plansubmitted to it under this section, such failure to approve does not precludethe approval of the plan by the General Assembly by local act. (1991, c. 689, s. 37(b).)